Hiccups
by Jaggie 107
Summary: Mac has a case of hiccups, and it’s driving the Admiral crazy. Only Harm has the cure!


Title : Hiccups

Author : Jaggie 107

Disclaimer : JAG characters belong to DPB, CBS and Paramount. I hope all parties will allow me to have fun for a little while, and replace them all when I'm done. Thank you.

Rating : T (I think!)

Summary : Mac has a case of hiccups, and it's driving the Admiral crazy. Only Harm has the cure!

Spoilers : None – A case of hiccups gave me the idea for this bit of fluff and fun! Set in the time of the Admiral's command.

* * *

**JAG Headquarters**

Harm walked through the glass doors and into the bullpen just as Harriet dashed by with a glass of water. "Welcome back, sir! Excuse me, won't you?" The door opened to Mac's office.

Harm nodded in bemusement as he walked past Mac's office himself, just in time to hear a rather loud noise from inside before the door closed. Shaking his head with a smile he carried on into his own office, and was duly followed by Petty Officer Coates.

"Morning, Commander. Welcome back, sir. The Admiral would like to see you, asap."

"Good morning to you too, Coates, and thank you. I'll be right there. I just need a drink of…"

"Sir, now would be a good time…the Admiral…" Jennifer began, and Harm gave her a look with his eyebrow raised, a question in his eyes. "Sir, I wouldn't ordinarily come between you and your morning coffee, but this _really_ can't wait."

"All right, Coates. I'll follow you in." Harm left his briefcase and cover on his desk and walked out of his office behind the Petty Officer. He had noticed the blinds drawn between his office and Mac's, however, and wondered why.

**Admiral Chegwidden's Office**

"Sir, Commander Rabb is here." Jennifer announced Harm just as he turned the corner into her outer office.

"Send him in. Now!" came the response, and Harm's raised eyebrow lifted a little higher at the brusque tone used by his commanding officer.

"Sir, reporting as ordered." Harm came to a stop in front of the large desk, and waited at attention. When no further comment came, Harm risked a downward glance and noticed the pile of documents on the Admiral's desk. It was unusual to see it so cluttered, and he had only been away for three days – had the office gone to pieces in that time?

"Ah…welcome back, Commander. Take a seat." The Admiral waved a hand without looking up, and Harm stepped back slightly before sitting down in one of the chairs in front of the desk.

"Thank you, sir."

"I take it your qualifying went well?"

"Aye, sir," Harm began, unsure as to where the conversation was headed. Usually when he returned from doing his qualifying flights to remain current as a fighter pilot he just slotted back into the daily life at JAG HQ, and only reported to the Admiral if there had been additional duties at sea, such as a case investigation, or onboard trial.

"Good. Now you can get our problem sorted."

"Problem, sir?"

At the question in Harm's voice, the Admiral finally looked up. His expression was frustrated, and he waved a hand over the files on his desk.

"You may have noticed a certain _tenseness_ in the air around here, Commander. This arises from Colonel Mackenzie's current health situation."

That made Harm sit up. _Mac was ill? _"Sir?"

"The Colonel came down with a case of hiccups on Wednesday, shortly after you left for the Seahawk. It has not subsided, and consequently her cases have been redistributed so that others can attend court in her place. I have taken on a case or three myself, as you can see, and while I don't object to helping my staff, I don't expect to have to spend time in a courtroom either. That's why I have you, Roberts, Turner and the Colonel."

"Aye, sir." Harm was getting agitated. He needed to see for himself what a state Mac was in. _Three days? _If the Admiral noted the change in Harm's demeanor, he didn't show it.

"Since you're back, you can liaise with the Colonel and take on some of her caseload. I'll complete what I have on my desk, and redistribute to Roberts when he returns. Commander Turner is out TDA to Norfolk until Monday. He left yesterday."

"Of course, sir. I'll get right on it."

"That isn't the only reason why I called you in here, Commander."

Harm dropped back into his seat as the Admiral steepled his fingers and gave a frustrated sigh.

"I need you to give the Colonel a shock."

"Shock?" Harm's reaction was comical, and the Admiral managed to hide his reactive smile.

"Yes. A short, sharp shock is supposedly a cure for hiccups. God knows, we've tried everything _else _we can think of!"

"Aye, sir…right now?"

"I'll call the Colonel in. It would be better that this be done in here, rather than in her office. With the two of you in there and the blinds drawn, scuttlebutt would be worse than it already is!"

"Sir…I…what is it you expect me to do? To the Colonel? To shock her, I mean…" Harm floundered slightly, and the Admiral fixed him with a glare.

"I expect you to cure the Colonel of her hiccups, Rabb. They started when you left, so now you're back, I trust you can stop them!" Before Harm could formulate another response the Admiral stabbed the intercom on his desk. His voice could be heard in Jennifer's office, and out into the bullpen. "Coates. Get me the Colonel, now!"

"Aye, sir." Jennifer got to her feet just as Mac's door opened across the bullpen. With a nod Mac started across the bullpen, her hand over her mouth to muffle the sound she was making. When she reached Jennifer's door the younger woman announced her arrival. "Colonel Mackenzie, sir."

"That will be all, Coates." The Admiral's voice was cut off as the door closed behind Mac. "Take a seat…" was all Jennifer heard.

Mac sat herself down beside Harm, gave him a nod, and turned to look at her commanding officer. "Sir…_hic_ You wanted…_hic_…to see…_hic_…me?"

"Yes, Colonel. Now the Commander is back, he will help you with your caseload. Lieutenant Roberts will be back from Bethesda this afternoon, and he will continue with Commander Turner's work."

"Thank…_hic_…you, sir."

Mac turned a grateful look on Harm, and he nodded in response, the sympathy for her condition showing in his eyes. Speaking to the Admiral, but keeping his gaze on Mac, Harm spoke up.

"Sir, I'm not quite sure what you expect me to be able to do…" Harm paused as Mac hiccupped once more, and he tried not to smile in response.

"Commander, I expect you to cure the Colonel of her current condition. It has been driving the office crazy listening to her, and while we commiserate with her anguish at being unable to perform her duties thoroughly, it does not detract from the fact that I need for this office to function at its optimum, and that cannot happen with the Colonel in this state!"

"Of course not, sir. Um…with your permission?"

"Do what you have to, Commander."

Harm got to his feet, causing Mac's head to move back as he towered over her. Unsure as to what her colleague was about to do, Mac held her breath. As Harm stood, waiting, Mac continued to hold her breath in suspense, until her body jumped at the hiccup that burst out when she had to take a breath again. Harm dropped down to one knee and took one of Mac's hands in his.

"I love you, Sarah," Harm began, and the Admiral was caught out by the statement. His first thought was that this was definitely a shock to _his_ system, and his second thought was that Rabb never lied. If nothing else, he knew that the man in front of him would rather lose a case than deny the truth. If Rabb was saying the words, he meant them! But _now_?

Mac, for her part, was frozen in her chair. The only sound was the slight hiccup that escaped the hand over her mouth. Harm glanced at the Admiral, who was transfixed, and then gave his attention back to Mac. Giving her a reassuring smile, he held her hand a little tighter.

"Will you marry me?"

"_Rabb!"_ The Admiral shot to his feet, and Harm rose also. With Mac's hand still in his, she was forced to rise with him, and he subconsciously put his other hand out to support her as she got to her feet. The move wasn't lost on the Admiral, and he stared for a moment at the gesture. Not that it was out of order – he expected nothing less than perfect manners from the tall Naval Commander – but that it was a gesture borne of innate knowledge, a gesture that was only usually apparent between couples that had been together, or even married, for a generous length of time. While he knew his two senior officers had danced around each other for a number of years, to his knowledge they had never gotten close enough to an established relationship that would elicit such _tenderness_.

"Sir?" Harm glanced at his commanding officer once again, waiting for his words. Both men, however, glanced at Mac as yet another hiccup escaped, and the Admiral sighed loudly.

"That sure as hell shocked me, Commander, but it obviously didn't affect the Colonel. I have to ask, though…did you mean it?"

"About wanting the Colonel to marry me? Yes, sir, I meant it." Harm turned back to face Mac and she smiled, nodding her head in response as another hiccup sounded between them.

"Aw, hell…you could have given me more notice!" The Admiral's voice could be heard, but not his words, and Jennifer raised her head from her desk, wondering just _what _was going on inside. "Never mind. I'll deal with it; just keep it quiet for now, until I can arrange something. It still isn't enough, though."

"Enough, sir?" Both Harm and Mac enquired, and their commanding officer glared at them.

"You still have the hiccups, Mac. I wanted Harm to shock you enough to stop them."

Mac's face fell a little, but Harm tipped her chin up with his finger.

"Every word I have said is true, Sarah. I love you, and I want to marry you. It's true the Admiral wanted me to give you a shock – but all I could think of was to say what I felt."

"Oh…_hic_…Harm!" Mac's eyes filled with unshed tears, and her fingers clutched at his tightly.

"Well, I suppose you could put us both out of misery and answer the man?" The Admiral's voice got through to Mac and she nodded her head, the tears spilling at last.

"Yes! Yes, I'll marry you…_hic_…Harm."

With that response, and without waiting for acknowledgement from his commanding officer, Harm leaned down and kissed Mac. After a decent time had expired, and Harm was still kissing Mac, he kissed her some more! A discreet cough brought the pair of them out of the clinch, and to some semblance of attention in front of the Admiral.

"That was…ah…interesting, Colonel, Commander, but I don't expect to see such a display in my office ever again."

"No, sir," Harm and Mac answered, together. They were stood to attention still, but close enough that their hands brushed together at the knuckles. The Admiral noted this, and something else.

"Well, Rabb, I'm impressed. You appear to have cured the Colonel's hiccups."

"Aye, sir," was all Harm said in reply, and Mac said nothing at all.

"Congratulations, and dismissed. I'll call you back when I have made arrangements."

"Aye, sir."

"Thank you, sir," Mac's voice wavered a little, but her eyes shone, and the Admiral nodded in response before clearing his throat and taking his seat once more.

As the two officers exited the Admiral's office, they walked in silence past Jennifer and straight across the bullpen to their respective offices. Mac opened the blinds in her office, and could be seen to seat herself at her desk.

Harm seated himself also, putting his briefcase on the floor under his desk, and his cover on the table behind him, before turning to the keyboard on his desk and typing in a few lines.

……………………..

**Later, Harm's Apartment**

"That was sneaky, Sailor," Mac's soft voice sounded in the silence of the night.

"What? Kissing you?" Harm responded, his arms tightening around Mac gently.

"Umm… You knew that kissing me would stop the hiccups."

"True," Harm laughed in the darkness, "…but the Admiral didn't know that had cured them before…" and he dropped a whisper of a kiss on Mac's bare shoulder. He felt the reactive shiver that went through her, and kissed her in the same spot once more.

"What bothers me is that you asking me to marry you didn't shock me enough!"

"I think you already knew subconsciously that I would ask you that question. We had all but reached that point when I went off to the Seahawk," Harm answered, and Mac nodded in response, amazed at Harm's insight.

"And the kissing part?"

"Ah…the kissing part. I think it has something to do with you holding your breath when I kiss you…" Harm answered, and proceeded to demonstrate once more.

The End


End file.
